Cyprus Conflict Documentaries

The Mediterranean island of Cyprus is like a paradise, with its eternal summer and beautiful beaches. Many tourists travel there every year, but few know the dark truth behind this idyllic place. In 1963, there was a rise in Greek nationalism in Cyprus, and that’s when people began to disappear. Taking advantage of a coup d’état in Cyprus in 1974, Turkey invaded and occupied the northern half of the island. During this operation, 2,001 people went missing. A newly formed government on the Turkish-controlled side of Cyprus declared itself the independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983. No nation other than Turkey recognises the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and Turkey does not recognize Cyprus, in turn. This is one obstacle toTurkey joining the European Union. Nowadays, a buffer zone known as the “Green Line” separates Cyprus into two halves. It is manned by United Nations soldiers. We meet Constantinos, a Greek photographer living near the Green Line in Cyprus, who is our guide and translator. The Committee of Missing Persons, or CMP, is a joint venture between Turkey and Greece that searches for and identifies the skeletal remains of those that died or were killed during the various conflicts between the two nations. RTD was to travel with a family of Turkish Cypriots to see their old home on the Greek side of the island. Unfortunately, Constantinos refused to join and the family thought if a Greek person was involved, they would be shown in a bad light, so the plans collapsed. Irina is a Greek Cypriot who was living in the northern part of Cyprus when Turkey invaded. We travel with her to the Turkish-controlled half of the island to visit her old home. She was 20 at the time and escaped with her fiancé when the Turkish soldiers came. Her mother, however, was lost during their escape. The CMP later identified remains found on Irina’s old property as her mother's. In 2003, the border between the two halves of Cyprus opened up a bit, giving some hope that relations between the two nations on the island could improve someday.